AMR Corp. should offer lump sum buy-outs to staff, rather than impose the involuntary layoffs proposed in the operator’s reorganization plan, say two of the company’s largest unions. The counter offers from the Transport Workers Union (TWU)—by far the company’s largest union representing eight different labor groups—and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) separately espouse the buy-outs as an answer to demands for a 20% cut in employee costs.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of February 15, 2012• compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
SkyWest Inc., which reported a fourth-quarter loss of $18 million and expects to lose money again in the current quarter, believes it can return to a full-year profit in 2012 by lowering its costs. But executives at the U.S. regional carrier say the airline still needs its major airline partners to pay higher rates for its services.
Indonesian carrier Lion Air plans to start widebody operations with either 10 Boeing 787-8s or Airbus A330s in 2014 or 2015, says CEO Pak Rusdi. The long-haul operation, which will start up with Boeing 737-900ERs before the widebodies are acquired, will be a full-service offering, Rusdi said this week during a Singapore air show signing ceremony for 27 ATR 72-600s for Lion Air’s Wings Air subsidiary. Boeing has near-term 787 slots available for the venture, Rusdi says. The widebody operation will be based in Manado.
American Airlines’ senior ranks have been culled yet again with the departure of two senior VPs, a move, the airline notes, that reduces its “leadership team” to 10 members, four fewer than it had when parent AMR Corp. filed for Chapter 11 in late November. The two executives leaving are Peter Dolara, senior VP for Mexico, Caribbean and Latin America (MCLA), and Thomas Del Valle, who is SVP for airport services and cargo. Both will retire by June 30, says American.
Boeing will turn over the first 747-8 passenger jet to a VIP customer at the factory in Everett, Wash., on Feb. 28. The airplane is expected to fly away about noon but it will not go into service for some time. It must still be outfitted with customized equipment for its unnamed buyer. VIP aircraft as large as a 747 are usually purchased by governments or heads of state for executive transport and typically have special communications equipment installed, not to mention cabin upgrades.
Airbus has begun a detailed review of why its design and engineering system allowed a manufacturing flaw to creep into the system that has led to an excessive structural strain being placed on some wing rib-feet, causing cracks in the component. “Are we learning from this for other programs? Absolutely,” Airbus CEO Tom Enders stresses.
Japan Airlines has boosted its Boeing 787 order to 45 aircraft, with a new deal for 10 787-9s and the conversion of 10 of its existing 787-8 orders to -9s. The total 787 order now consists of 25 787-8s, and 20 -9s, with another 20 options. The 787-9s are set to enter service from 2015, a year after the -9 launch customer Air New Zealand is scheduled to take its first delivery.
Garuda International is adding 18 Bombardier CRJ1000s to its fleet under two separate deals that sees the Indonesian airline purchase six of the twinjets and lease a further 12 from Nordic Aviation Capital. The widely expected Garuda announcement includes options for 18 more CRJ1000s. The first five aircraft, a mix of owned and leased, are scheduled for delivery this year. A further 12 CRJ100s are expected to be delivered in 2013 and the remaining one aircraft follows in 2014.
Gulfstream is expanding its support and training network in Asia, with the first factory-owned OEM maintenance, repair and overhaul factory in China and the first dedicated business jet flight simulator in the region. The Gulfstream fleet is rapidly expanding in the Asia-Pacific region, which now accounts for 27% of the Savannah, Ga., manufacturer’s $17.9 billion backlog, Gulfstream President Larry Flynn says. Gulfstream has worked to increase its presence in the region, opening a sales office in Beijing late last year.
Boeing Commercial Aviation Services is extending its GoldCare service and support product to the 747-400 and is launching a new initiative that brands its array of offerings under the name Boeing Edge. Both initiatives, unveiled at the Singapore air show, can be seen as pushing Boeing further into the aviation aftermarket, where it competes with the likes of Lufthansa Technik (LHT), the global maintenance, engineering and services arm of Lufthansa, one of Boeing Commercial Aircraft’s largest customers.
Indian low-cost Go Airlines (GoAir) has selected Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G-JM engines for its firm order of 72 A320 aircraft. The agreement represents 144 firm-order PW1100G-JM engines and is expected to include a PureSolutionSM maintenance package, a spokesman for P&W, says. No financial details are available, but the spokesman says the deliveries are scheduled to start in 2016.
JetBlue Airways spent $32 million to acquire slots at New York LaGuardia Airport so it could offer more flights to Florida, but it is using the $40 million it spent to get more slots at Reagan Washington National Airport to expand its existing service between the nation’s capital and Boston Logan to shuttle-like levels. JetBlue acquired eight slot pairs at both LaGuardia and National late last year in an auction for slots that Delta Air Lines divested at the airports as a condition of FAA approval of a slot swap with US Airways.
The FCC is indefinitely suspending LightSquared’s conditional waiver to operate its proposed 4G voice and data network in bands adjacent to those used by GPS, citing concerns that potential interference with GPS units could pose aviation safety risks. “The commission clearly stated from the outset that harmful interference to GPS would not be permitted,” the FCC says. “Consequently, the commission will not lift the prohibition on LightSquared.”
Gulf Air has decided to shut down four routes in an effort to reduce losses, with services to Athens, Damascus, Kuala Lumpur and Milan scheduled to end in the coming weeks. The company says the four routes were underperforming, with CEO Samer Majali noting that “these closures are pragmatic commercial decisions aimed at focusing services on routes with higher passenger traffic.”
Click here to view the pdf Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, Hong Kong - San Francisco Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, Hong Kong - San Francisco Cathay Pacific United Others
Low-cost startup Volotea plans to begin operations in time for this year’s Easter holiday period from Italy’s Venice-Marco Polo Airport, using three 717-200s leased from Boeing Capital Corporation.
Air Canada pilots have overwhelming approved a strike vote as details emerge about the carrier’s plan to establish a new low-cost joint venture. Some 97% of the more than 97% of members who voted supported the strike authorization, which was called last week by the Air Canada Pilots Association after federally mediated talks between the union and airline collapsed.
Kuwaiti lessor Alafco has finalized terms for 35 more Airbus A320NEOs, bringing its total backlog for the type to 85 units. At the the recent Dubai air show, Alafco firmed 50 NEOs and 30 options. The latter number has since grown to 35, says Ahmand A. Alzabin, the lessor’s chairman and CEO. Alafco is in talks with CFM International and Pratt & Whitney for engine options; an announcement may come during this week’s Singapore air show. The first 50 aircraft will be powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100 engines.
From October through December 2011 U.S. airlines achieved their best domestic on-time performance for a fourth quarter since then U.S. Transportation Department began keeping comparable records in 1985, with an on-time arrival rate topping 85%, newly released DOT statistics show. The DOT counts a flight as on time if it arrives within 15 minutes of schedule.
Lion Air has formally become the launch customer for Boeing’s 737-9 MAX by finalizing terms for a deal that includes 201 of the re-engined 737s, 29 737-900ERs, and purchase rights for 150 more aircraft. The MAX deal has flexibility for Lion Air to take -8s and -9s. Deliveries of the $22.4 billion deal (at list price) begin in 2016 for the additional -900ERs and in 2017 for the MAX, says airline founder Rusdi Kirana.
